Palo Alto has a new downtown dining destination where chicken and waffles get a Japanese makeover, avocado toast gets a hit of white miso, and comfort food comes with a distinctly Yoshoku accent. Demi, the latest restaurant from Demiya chef Demi Ebara, is now open and aiming to make Japanese-Western fusion feel like an everyday meal rather than a culinary stunt.
The restaurant is at 407 Lytton Ave. and is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM and 5:30 to 9 PM, according to The Mercury News. Demi offers sit-down service spanning Japanese breakfasts, lunches and dinners, with a small backyard garden planned to add about 12 outdoor seats.
The menu leans into Japanese takes on Western favorites
The menu’s chicken and waffles pair Japanese karaage with dashi maple syrup for $24, while the $28 omurice wraps fried rice in a fluffy omelet. There is also Japanese carbonara for $30, plus avocado toast topped with white miso avocado for $22.
Dinner options include salmon with spinach miso cream for $32 and yakiniku steak for $42. Smaller bites include Japanese curry empanadas for $9, while yuzu sorbet costs $12 and provides a somewhat more peaceful ending to the meal.
Ebara told The Mercury News that she wanted to challenge herself with the new concept, which pushes beyond Demiya’s better-known Japanese curry menu. The restaurant is also waiting on an application to serve Japanese craft beer and sake, meaning the beverage program could expand after opening.
Demiya’s Bay Area footprint now reaches Palo Alto
Ebara moved to the United States from Kyoto roughly 15 years ago and studied at Foothill College and San Jose State University before graduating in 2015. Her Demiya restaurant group, founded in 2016, now operates five locations in San Jose, Cupertino, Dublin, Fremont and Emeryville, according to Demiya’s official site.
The Palo Alto project had been previewed earlier this year as one of several new eateries planned for downtown. The Almanac reported that the restaurant would feature a largely new menu focused on Yoshoku, the Japanese tradition of reworking Western-style dishes through Japanese techniques and flavors.
For Palo Alto diners, that means the new arrival is offering something broader than another sushi or ramen counter. Demi’s opening lineup is built around familiar formats—carbonara, steak, toast and waffles—but sends each one through a Japanese comfort-food filter.
